In the 112th Congress, Senate Democrats Haven’t Even Proposed A Budget
As a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006, Bill Nelson (D-FL) repeatedly expressed his support for a balanced budget and routinely pilloried Republicans for their fiscal record in Washington.
Yet today marks a full 750 days since Nelson and the Democrat-controlled Senate have passed ANY budget, let alone a balanced budget. In fact, in the current 112th Congress, Senate Democrats have yet to even propose a budget, let alone debate and pass one. And in just the 750 days since Nelson and his fellow Democrats who run the Senate have failed to pass a budget, the federal debt has risen by an additional $3.1 trillion.
“Every month, every Florida family has to put together a budget and live within their means, yet Bill Nelson and his fellow liberal Democrats apparently don’t believe they should be held to that same standard in Washington,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox. “Passing a federal budget each year is the most basic responsibility of the Congress, but for more than four years Nelson has been content to kick the can down the road and keep maxing out the government credit card. Now here we are after 750 days, and Nelson and his fellow Democrats won’t even propose a budget, let alone pass one.”
Background…
As Democrats continue to spend, Americans are still waiting for their budget:
- “… it’s been more than 700 days since the Democrat-controlled Senate has actually passed a budget.” (Andrew Stiles, “Conrad the Cowardly Budget Chair?” National Review, 05/06/11)
- “It has been more than 700 days since Senate Democrats have voted on a budget. Republicans sent a letter to Conrad this week demanding to see a budget before they are forced to vote on it. Conrad has not responded.” (Conn Carroll, “Morning Examiner: The most important number of the week,” The Examiner, 05/06/11)
- “Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) says he has no immediate plans to mark up a budget, as members of his committee continue to disagree over spending cuts and tax increases….Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) cast doubt on whether Conrad’s effort will succeed. ‘I don’t know there is going to be a Conrad budget,’ Baucus said.” (Alex Bolton, Senate Dems’ Budget In Limbo, The Hill 5/17/2011)
Since the Democrat-controlled Senate last passed a budget, the federal debt has risen by an additional $3.1 trillion:
- On April 27, 2009, The National Debt Was $11.2 Trillion. (Treasury Direct Website, www.treasurydirect.gov, Accessed 5/18/11)
- Today, The National Debt Is Over $14.3 Trillion. (Treasury Direct Website, www.treasurydirect.gov, Accessed 5/18/11)
And aside from not passing a budget, Senate Democrats aren’t doing much of anything else either:
- “The legislative snoozefest that has been the U.S. Senate this year isn’t likely to change anytime soon …” (Steven T. Dennis, “Senate Faces Modest Agenda as Debt Limit Looms,” Roll Call, 05/01/11)
- “Even the modest agenda laid out by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has begun to stall.” (Steven T. Dennis, “Senate Faces Modest Agenda as Debt Limit Looms,” Roll Call, 05/01/11)
- “Through last week, the Senate had held only 70 roll-call votes, the lowest level through this point in the year since 1997. About a quarter of those votes have been on nominations — many of them noncontroversial.” (Manu Raju, “Slow-go Senate avoids tough roll-call votes,” Politico, 05/18/11)
But As A Candidate For the Senate In 2006, Bill Nelson Expressed Support For A Federal Balanced Budget:
When Campaigning In 2006, Bill Nelson Said He Wanted To Bring A Pay-As-You Go Policy To The Federal Budget:
NELSON: “But What We Ought To Do Is We Ought To Have A Pay-As-You-Go Policy, That If You Want To Pay For Something, And You Want To Spend The Money For This, You’re Going To Have To Identify A Revenue Source To Pay For It. And That’s The Only Thing That’s Going To Get Us Out Of This Mess That We’re In. Instead of everybody point their fingers and saying, ‘this tax,’ and so forth. What – I would just point out – there are 22 editorial boards from major daily newspapers, all of them that have endorsed thus far, they’ve endorsed me. And over and over in these editorial endorsements, they say I am a political moderate in the mainstream, and not a big tax-and-spender.” (November 1, 2006 debate, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/FloridaSenateDebate)
